1. Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph. The play (set in 1981) opens up to the office and hospital of Dr. Emma Brookner, who seems to be the only doctor taking this AIDS plague seriously. Characters Mickey Marcus and Ned Weeks are there to support their friend Craig Donner, who is getting his test results back (negative). He keeps asking for his partner, Bruce. Ned gets a pat down, even though he doesn’t necessarily want one, and talks to Dr. Brookner about speaking up for AIDS activists
2. What is the intrusion? The intrusion, in my opinion, is when Ned Weeks finally decides to fully immerse himself into helping raise awareness to AIDS. For the beginning of the play, he was reluctant and if it weren’t for Dr. Brookner and the death of people Ned knew, he may never had seen just how destroying and dangerous of an illness this was.
3. What is the unique factor? This is the day Ned Weeks investigates Dr. Brookner and her patients, who persuade him to speak up on a cause no one seems to be giving enough attention to.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play? Will Felix and Ned turn out well in the end? How many people will Ned lose? Will their efforts be enough to spark visibility and a movement to cure AIDS?
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it. One unique exposition is information that everyone knows. This is important to this play because the growing problem of AIDS is not only something all the characters are aware of, but also something readers of the play know as still a pressing issue to this day. This makes it special as audience members are able to relate and understand the information much better. The other exposition, something known only by one or two people, is found throughout the play in small segments. It’s revealed through their diagnosis and deaths. The carriers of AIDS know they have it, even before they are officially diagnosed (just like Craige kept saying how he knew something was wrong at the start of the play). This is something that only one character knows, but no one else does until it is later revealed.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be. Considering the amount of deaths in the play, it's hard to pinpoint a moment that captures the importance so well. In my opinion, I see this moment as when Ned and Felix pronounce their vows. It’s one of the few moments of pure happiness, yet it’s still overshadowed by the true reality of Felix’s fate. Readers have been anticipating this moment until now, but it quickly ends right after when Felix finally passes away...
7. List some of the themes of the play. A big theme is resistance and support. Followed by love and acceptance. Ned Weeks also radiates resilience and a burning passion to fight for his cause. Last, of course, there is the theme of love; however, this play deals more with the idea of star crossed love, love that has tough obstacles.
8. What does Ned want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of his getting what he wants? He is searching for help. He wants so badly to get people’s attention, but his impatience and strong words tend to steer people away. Obstacles that stand in his way actually start with himself. He in no way started out as dedicated to the AIDS revolution as he was by the end of the play. Initially, he was rather reluctant for a multitude of reasons. In terms of other obstacles, he faced backlash from those eboth in the community (who saw his words as threatening to their sex life) and outside the community (who didn’t care as much since they were not directly affected and thought gay people weren’t people to have around anyway). He also faced obstacles from his brother, although that dramatically changed as his brother became more and more supportive to him. His organization often suppressed his plans and ideas as they were more radical in their eyes and seemed to direct. They even elected someone else as head because of this.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play. One lasting image can be that of death itself. There’s so much death in their lives that this shows people reading the play just how infecting and of an actual problem it was, and still is. The two biggest images are images of physical proportions, which in of itself is important to understanding the play as it represents just how exhausting both physically and mentally AIDS can be for those who have it and those around them. The two include the purple lesions, which are what Ned Weeks sees at the very start and throughout the play, and the image of Dr. Brookner in her wheelchair. The purple lesions are what people in the “outside” world use to identify and scrutinize those infected, and are initially what help to scare and open the eyes of Ned. Ned works with Dr. Brookner, who is in a wheelchair. Regardless of this, she spends every day helping those with AIDS because no one else will. She herself becomes an image for bravery and her incapacitation becomes that of an obstacle she proves to overcome to viewers. What makes this image even more important is how it’s a true story and she actually was in a wheelchair.
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play. There's so many intrigued relationships, but majority are lost. That's part of the point to the story. They're trying to raise awareness because they lose people left and right. The ending was possibly the saddest moment. As mentioned in what questions need to be answered by the ned of the play, Felix had been sick with AIDS for a good portion of the play and it wasn’t until the last moment that they got married and he passed away. Another relationship is that of Ned and his brother, which gradually develops over the span of the entire play.
The play (set in 1981) opens up to the office and hospital of Dr. Emma Brookner, who seems to be the only doctor taking this AIDS plague seriously. Characters Mickey Marcus and Ned Weeks are there to support their friend Craig Donner, who is getting his test results back (negative). He keeps asking for his partner, Bruce. Ned gets a pat down, even though he doesn’t necessarily want one, and talks to Dr. Brookner about speaking up for AIDS activists
2. What is the intrusion?
The intrusion, in my opinion, is when Ned Weeks finally decides to fully immerse himself into helping raise awareness to AIDS. For the beginning of the play, he was reluctant and if it weren’t for Dr. Brookner and the death of people Ned knew, he may never had seen just how destroying and dangerous of an illness this was.
3. What is the unique factor?
This is the day Ned Weeks investigates Dr. Brookner and her patients, who persuade him to speak up on a cause no one seems to be giving enough attention to.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
Will Felix and Ned turn out well in the end? How many people will Ned lose? Will their efforts be enough to spark visibility and a movement to cure AIDS?
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
One unique exposition is information that everyone knows. This is important to this play because the growing problem of AIDS is not only something all the characters are aware of, but also something readers of the play know as still a pressing issue to this day. This makes it special as audience members are able to relate and understand the information much better.
The other exposition, something known only by one or two people, is found throughout the play in small segments. It’s revealed through their diagnosis and deaths. The carriers of AIDS know they have it, even before they are officially diagnosed (just like Craige kept saying how he knew something was wrong at the start of the play). This is something that only one character knows, but no one else does until it is later revealed.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
Considering the amount of deaths in the play, it's hard to pinpoint a moment that captures the importance so well. In my opinion, I see this moment as when Ned and Felix pronounce their vows. It’s one of the few moments of pure happiness, yet it’s still overshadowed by the true reality of Felix’s fate. Readers have been anticipating this moment until now, but it quickly ends right after when Felix finally passes away...
7. List some of the themes of the play.
A big theme is resistance and support. Followed by love and acceptance. Ned Weeks also radiates resilience and a burning passion to fight for his cause. Last, of course, there is the theme of love; however, this play deals more with the idea of star crossed love, love that has tough obstacles.
8. What does Ned want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of his getting what he wants?
He is searching for help. He wants so badly to get people’s attention, but his impatience and strong words tend to steer people away. Obstacles that stand in his way actually start with himself. He in no way started out as dedicated to the AIDS revolution as he was by the end of the play. Initially, he was rather reluctant for a multitude of reasons. In terms of other obstacles, he faced backlash from those eboth in the community (who saw his words as threatening to their sex life) and outside the community (who didn’t care as much since they were not directly affected and thought gay people weren’t people to have around anyway). He also faced obstacles from his brother, although that dramatically changed as his brother became more and more supportive to him. His organization often suppressed his plans and ideas as they were more radical in their eyes and seemed to direct. They even elected someone else as head because of this.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
One lasting image can be that of death itself. There’s so much death in their lives that this shows people reading the play just how infecting and of an actual problem it was, and still is. The two biggest images are images of physical proportions, which in of itself is important to understanding the play as it represents just how exhausting both physically and mentally AIDS can be for those who have it and those around them. The two include the purple lesions, which are what Ned Weeks sees at the very start and throughout the play, and the image of Dr. Brookner in her wheelchair. The purple lesions are what people in the “outside” world use to identify and scrutinize those infected, and are initially what help to scare and open the eyes of Ned. Ned works with Dr. Brookner, who is in a wheelchair. Regardless of this, she spends every day helping those with AIDS because no one else will. She herself becomes an image for bravery and her incapacitation becomes that of an obstacle she proves to overcome to viewers. What makes this image even more important is how it’s a true story and she actually was in a wheelchair.
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
There's so many intrigued relationships, but majority are lost. That's part of the point to the story. They're trying to raise awareness because they lose people left and right. The ending was possibly the saddest moment. As mentioned in what questions need to be answered by the ned of the play, Felix had been sick with AIDS for a good portion of the play and it wasn’t until the last moment that they got married and he passed away.
Another relationship is that of Ned and his brother, which gradually develops over the span of the entire play.